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People of Sanctuary
The People of Sanctuary is the term used to define the collection of people who live on the planet Sanctuary. While not precisely an actual civilization, by modern international standards, they are still considered one by the few who know of them. They were created after the downfall of the Tournan Empire. History The people of Sanctuary are merely the most recent incarnation of the Tournan race, whose history is such that it literally transcends time. A brief synopsis is as follows: * The most primitive known form of the Tournans is a strange life sucking bug called the Iratus bug, which evolved some time ago in a far away galaxy known as the Pegasus galaxy. * The bugs absorbed the DNA of the humanoid victims on which they fed, eventually turning them into strange and wonderful creatures which became known as Wraith. * These Wraith coexisted happily with the other fauna of the Pegasus galaxy, until one day there was an ethical rennaissance which affected a small group of hives (groups of wraithes). * Among these hives was the Tournan Hive, which had come under the rule of DR. Tourny due to the death of the queen. * The Tournan Hive struck out among the stars. * After many years, the arrived in the Appearance Galaxy. The Tournans had since given up absorbing life energy (though still fully capable of doing so) and due to their now advanced understanding of biology devised a replenishable food source on board the ship. * The Hive discovered the Planet of the Entirely Mechanical Beings, and through a new alliance developed an intimate understanding of robotics, cybernetics, and through integration of subject material, biotechnology. * The Tournans explored the Appearance as a lone ship, acquiring the Ithaka Space Station and a Mining Asteroid. * After the Tetrodosian War, the Tournan Hive settled on Sanctuary, the artificial planet of Tetrodox. * The cybernetic organisms which had joined the Hive become so mixed with the Tournans that they actually hybridize. This produces the current breed from which the People of Sanctuary hail. * The Tournans entered the Time Dialation field which facilitated the accident. (The Accident is when the Tournans attempted relocating to a different universe but failed and ended up remaining half way between them for ~trillions of years (for them) but only a few weeks for everyone else.) * The Time Dialation field is exited, bringing us to the present. Politics When the People of Sanctuary must make a decision as a whole, that decision is made by a meritocratic council called the Sanctuaren Council. Otherwise, Sanctuarons experience many different forms of government and politics depending on where they live. Governance Prior to 18 June, 2011, the people of Sanctuary had never really had a need for a centralized government. However, when the Tournan Hive Ship was resurrected, DR. Tourny insisted that the various colonies on the planet all play a part in, or at least be aware of, the decisions made on the new frontier, because any action taken in space inevitably reflects on the entire civilization, and not just the ones who took it. So a conference was gathered of the nearby mayors and they saw to it that every colony was notified that there was to be a meeting in the Monastery of the Followers, and that they were to send their best, brightest, and wisest to attend. This meeting occured on 21 June, 2011. In attendence of the meeting were the mayors of the cities and villages, the sachems of the various tribes of the forrest peoples, and the elders of the swamp peoples. Also present were many different people of various other acclaim – expert archers, famed artisans, war heroes, incredible athletes, innovators, wealthy business men, etc. – making the monastery's council chamber filled to the brim. As members arrived, the meeting was eventually relocated to the adjacent court yard. There it was decided that a council would be formed, and that it would be responsible for all space affairs. Members In order to become a member of the council, there are only a few requirements: * They must represent the people of Sanctuary, or the people of Aharon. This was put in place so that, if foreigners came to inhabit either planet, they would not be able to manipulate the council to their own agendas. ** Foreigners may ''become ''legitimate Sanctuarons or Aharoans if they can prove they are in fact residents, and not guests. If the majority of the people in their daily lives are able to truthfully vouch for them, they may appear before the council to apply for citizenship. * In order to apply to become a member, a citizen must first obtain the approval of the majority of their people. The council will accept or deny them based on who gave them that approval. * If someone who is already a member of the council can vouch for the applicant, they need only get approval from their people in order to join. There is still a period of review, however it is not as extensive. * Members can also be kicked off the council, but only with a unanimous vote among the other members. In order to facilitate this agreement, ceremonial combat is permitted (though the legitimacy of the fight is at the discretion of the uninvolved members of the council). Decision-Making When any decision needs to be made, depending on the urgency of the issue, the council organizes a meeting or waits until the next scheduled meeting to discuss it. Often, several experts in relevant fields will be summoned to provide the council with any information they require in order to decide on a course of action. To do this, the council simply debates the issue until a general concensus is met. While this method has usually worked thus far, some of the more driving members of the council managed to push the council along the few times it did not. Breaking a Locked Session Usually when a council meeting ceases to be productive, it is a matter of ignorance and miscommunication rather than the actual issue at hand that is causing the deadlock. One of the most prominent of the driving members mentioned above, David Williams, has dedicated himself to the functionality of the council and managed to get several measures put in place to facilitate the breaking of locked sessions. The Council Faculty The Council Faculty is Williams' greatest contribution. He pursuaded the council that in order to prevent underlying issues from blocking decisions, an aloof group of observers should be present to alert the council of their presence. Williams became the head of this group, the members of which are almost completely unregulated. The observers sit up on an observation deck and listen to the debating, and if they notice a problem they notify Williams, who then informs the council at his own disgression. The Faculty also consists of several permanent experts, often who live nearby the monastery, who are tasked with knowing all there is to know in their field (as opposed to knowing it by way of ongoing research and discovery) and advise the council using this knowledge. Also on the Faculty is the scribe, who records the minutes (although what the members actually say and when is recorded as audio from start to end). Dissent Buttons Another of Williams' contributions is an array of buttons each wired to an LED on a display board on one wall of the council chamber. Members are instructed to simply press the button if something is said which they disagree with, be it a moral disagreement or a logical one. The LED on the board lights up red when the corresponding button is pressed, and each button logs the exact time of each press so that the members don't have to think about why they pressed the button in the first place. If they can't remember, the recording of the session is played starting just before the pressing of the button, and a timer displays the exact moment it occured. Territories The People of Sanctuary only inhabited the planet Sanctuary before the Sanctuaren Council was formed. Concurrently with its founding, the civilization became quasi-space-worthy and now the Sanctuarons also inhabit Sanctuary's moon adopted moon, Aharon. Foreign Relations The People of Sanctuary are represented in the Capita Council by Ambassador DR. Tourny Prime. They otherwise enjoy very little in the way of foreign relations. Military The People of Sanctuary only have one capital ship, the Tournan Hive Ship mk II. Any extraterrestrial combat is lead by its captain, DR. Tourny Prime and facilitated by the ship's army of insectoid drones. In the case of ground combat on their home planet or its moon, the different constituants of the people have access to militias as well as cargo shuttles.